Out of 179,919 candidates, the IB awarded 72,314 diplomas worldwide for the May 2023 session. On Friday, October 13, 2023, Latta High School held a presentation ceremony for Lindsey Arnel, Sarah Bracey, John Gasque, Gatlin Johnson, and Zachary Peacock to receive their International Baccalaureate Programme diplomas. These remarkable young people received their diplomas by completing two years of a rigorous, demanding international curriculum. Their course of study included six academic classes as well as three additional subjects comprising the core of IB: Theory of Knowledge (a class that challenges students to reflect on the nature of knowledge), Creativity, Activity, and Service (a mandate requiring students to focus beyond academics and to volunteer their time and service to others), and Extended Essay (an independent, college-level essay of approximately 4,000 words).

Each student dedicates approximately forty hours of work into the creation of their Extended Essay. The topics this year were wide-ranging and thought-provoking. Lindsey’s topic was “Examining Author Accreditation in The Secret Life of Bees Versus The Fire Next Time: To what extent does The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, accurately depict racial injustice in the 1960s in comparison to the non-fiction memoir, The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin?” Sarah’s topic was “Analysis of The Perks of Being a Wallflower: To what extent does The Perks of Being a Wallflower express the characteristics of a bildungsroman?” John’s topic was “Authoritarianism depicted in George Orwell’s Animal Farm: How does George Orwell use literary techniques to depict authoritarianism throughout Animal Farm?” Zachary’s topic was “The Various Opinions Within Fahrenheit 451: How do the views and opinions of characters within Fahrenheit 451 evolve throughout the course of the novel?” Gatlin’s topic was “The Mukden Incident: How did the Mukden Incident impact Japan, China, and the League of Nations?”
Sarah Bracey is the daughter of James Bracey and Jennifer Bracey. She is attending Clemson University and is majoring in bioengineering. After graduation, she plans to go into prosthetic development. Sarah said IB helped to prepare her for college life because “it taught me that time management was crucial,” and it taught me the “responsibility of having to remember assignments on my own and without constant reminders from the teachers, which is prevalent in college.” Her advice to upcoming IB students was, “Go ahead and learn not to procrastinate. I struggled with this but I soon learned that it only lead to more stress. This will not only help in IB, but in college as well. When studying, make sure you understand the concept and you aren’t only memorizing. Ask for help if you need it, it’s better to ask than to get behind because you don’t know it. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If you don’t understand something right away, that’s okay. These are difficult classes and are meant to challenge you. Trust that your teachers know what they are doing and, as long as you put in the effort, you will be okay.”
John Gasque is the son of Laura and Johnny Mac Gasque. He is attending Clemson University and is majoring in computer engineering. After graduation, he plans to design computer systems for industrial and agricultural applications. He said that IB helped him to “improve my time management and prioritization, which is really important not only for my studies but also for life.” The piece of advice that he wanted to share with other IB students was “don’t think about the workload. Thinking about how bad it is only makes it worse.”
Gatlin Johnson is the son of Charlie and Ashley Johnson. He is attending the University of South Carolina and is majoring in accounting. After graduation, he plans to start his own business. He said, “IB helped me manage my time better in college. I learned it is important to get all of my work done first so I can enjoy my free time.” Gatlin’s advice to other students shows that he learned the value of a “balanced” life – “never procrastinate but make time for friends.”
Zachary Peacock is the son of Dawn and Steven Peacock and is attending Charleston Southern University. He is majoring in math education and plans to teach high school level math after graduating. His advice was “to find a good balance between doing work and relaxing early on. Doing this will allow you to not be as stressed when a lot of work comes your way because in IB some weeks feel like a breeze, and other weeks you’ll feel like you have 10 assignments due by midnight that you won’t start on until 11:15.” That is good advice for IB, college, and the world of work.
Lindsey Arnel is the daughter of Lisa and Bruce Arnel. She is attending Wake Forest University and is completing a double major of Medical Anthropology and Bioethics on a Pre-Med Track. After graduation, she intends to pursue her dream of being an orthodontist by attending dental school. Lindsey reflected deeply on the IB experience and had many good thoughts to share with other students and with our community. Her answers to the interview questions are printed in their entirety below.
How did IB prepare you for college/life? “While IB taught me many skills regarding time management and maintaining a strong work ethic, I have benefitted from IB the most in the writing department. At a liberal arts college like Wake Forest, having profound writing skills is a must in every subject, not just those pertaining to English or history. Due to my IB History of the Americas HL and IB Language and Literature HL courses, I am able to write essays, lab reports, research papers, and more both quickly and efficiently. I have yet to receive anything less than an A in college for assessments involving writing, and I have to give it to the many, many essays I wrote in high school for the IB program.”
What was your biggest challenge in completing the IB program? “My biggest challenge throughout being a DP student would have to be balancing my mental health while also prioritizing my school work. I often forced my health on the back-burner, making my IB assignments and my endless studying the only priority in my life. I saw myself going to sleep in the early hours of the morning, not because of procrastination, but because of my corrupt sleep schedule. In reality, it should be at least a 50/50 balance between school and physical wellbeing, and I failed to recognize that throughout my junior and senior year. However, I am now able to work very well under pressure, but I also know how to find a happy medium between taking care of myself and maintaining my studies.”
What advice would you share with incoming IB students? “I feel that the advice everyone provides is to learn how to manage your time and to not procrastinate. While this is extremely important and definitely necessary (although there will be some long, long nights before exams), I feel that there are other areas where students often overlook their opportunities as an IB student. Whether you are a diploma candidate or not, extended essays, internal and external assessments, and exhibition topics are meant for you to explore a genre or discipline that excites you and makes you interested. Do not feel pressured to choose a topic that sounds “academically appealing,” but choose one that you do not mind dedicating many hours to exploring. I recognized the importance of this when writing my extended essay, allowing me to choose a topic that I truly enjoyed dissecting and discussing.”
Do you have any final thoughts that you would like to share about IB? “While I am sure you hear this often, the two years that you complete IB courses will seem difficult and often overwhelming, especially with managing a social life and athletics. However, after graduation, especially moving on to university, the gratitude that you will have towards the program will be immense. I am beyond grateful for pursuing the IB diploma, regardless of the 10 exams and multiple assessments, including CAS, and I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world. If I had to do it again, I would. Not only do I have experience with a course load of high academic rigor, but I also formed some of the best friendships with my classmates and teachers that I could ever ask for. You truly do become a family, and for that, I am forever grateful for being an IB Diploma Recipient.” While all of the students mentioned learning to balance academics, sports, jobs, friends, and family as a big challenge while they were in the Diploma Programme, they managed to successfully handle the workload as evidenced by the IB Diploma each earned. Latta High School is very proud of all of our International Baccalaureate Diploma graduates. They join many other Latta High School graduates who distinguished themselves by earning this international recognition. The significant achievements that these young people have already accomplished make us all look forward to seeing what they will do in the future. The staff and faculty would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to our graduates for their willingness to share their life experiences and knowledge with their peers. We look forward to many more years of successful stories told by our International Baccalaureate Diploma graduates.